Speech #700124890

Mr. President. the immigration question in this country is not the great issue that it was once. although sometimes. in order to play upon the fancy and arouse the prejudice of some people some wouldbe orators try to make it a major issue. I was delighted that in the recent campaign both political parties in their platforms stood for the most restricted immigration and that the presidential candidates of both political parties differed as to details only. both expressly stating that they were against increasing immigration to this country. So any expression inade by anyone touching the position of candidates on the Republican or the Democratic tickets in the recent campaign. that they favored an increase in immigration. is erroneous and unjustified by the facts. People have always differed on the immigration question. it has never been a partisan question. In my more than 18 years experience in Congress I have never seen politics enter into the subject of immigration. I remember when I was a Member of the other House the distinguished Augustus P. Gardner. a Republican from Massachusetts. sitting by the side of the little giant from Alabama. John L. Burnett. and fighting for the eniment of the literacy test. I saw that law passed through both Houses of Congress and go to a Republican President. and I saw him veto it. Then two years later I saw the same gentlemen fighting with those who had assisted them in the previous Congress. adopt a literacy test and pass a bill restricting immigration into this country. to a very large extent. though. of course. not so much as tider the present law. I saw that bill go to a Democratic President. he took a different view from the Congress. and vetoed the bill. but Representatives and Senators laid aside their partisanship and voted to override the Presidents veto. and the bill became the law of the land. and from that time on we have- had restricted immigration. It was my pleasure in both instances to vote to override the presidential vetoes. The enactment of the literacy test was a most restrictive measure and a great forward step. When. however. a few years later immigrants were getting ready to come here by the millions and the question came up as to the best way of giving to the American people a good immigration law and preventing the most undesirable groups of immigrants from coming here. we adopted the quota system based on the 1890 census. first. I believe. with a restriction of 3 per cent and afterwards of 2 per cent. The difference between the national origins test and that of the quota method based upon the census of 1890 is. of course. apparent. but apparent only in a minor degree. The gentlemen in the House and in the Senate who fought for restricted immigration legislation were not so much interested as to the difference between the national origins plan and the quota system based on the census of 1890. As a member of the Immigration Committee. I accepted the national origins test. although. from the information that came to us we appreciated the difficulty of putting it into effect. It has been difficult.